Major League Soccer finally has free agency, at least in some form, and the first players to benefit from the new free agent designation were identified on Monday, with Mike Magee, Ricardo Clark and Ned Grabavoy among the more intriguing options for teams looking to sign veteran players who have no ties to their former teams.
The new Collective Bargaining Agreement grants free agency to any player 28 years old or older who has eight years of service time and is either out of contract or had their contract option declined by their previous team.
Here is the first MLS free agency class:
MLS also announced the players who are eligible for the Re-Entry Draft, with Stage One to be conducted on Friday at 3 p.m. Clubs have up until 5 p.m. on Thursday to re-sign or trade their own Re-Entry Draft eligible players. Stage Two will be held on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 3 p.m. MLS will release the results following each of the calls. The Re-Entry Draft Order is determined by the reverse order of the final standings in the MLS season, taking into account postseason performance.
A player may choose to opt out of the Re-Entry Process prior to Stage One and/or Stage Two of the Re-Entry Draft. In such instances, the right of first refusal for the player will remain with his previous club.
Here are the players available in the MLS Re-Entry Draft:
—
What do you think of the lists? Which free agent would you like to see your team sign?
Share your thoughts below.